1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to water aeration devices, and particularly to a mobile buoyant aerator adapted to float freely in a body of water and to aerate at least the upper strata of the water.
2. Description of the Related Art
The contamination of various bodies of water by various means is an increasingly serious problem worldwide. Perhaps the most widespread contaminants are organic materials that enter the water system due to pollution from human habitation, either directly or indirectly, e.g., pollution from farms and the like. Such pollution can affect inland fresh water supplies (lakes and rivers), and can also be carried to the sea by inland rivers and waterways or by direct discharge of sewage and/or other pollutants into the sea. Organic material in the sewage of treatment plants is another example of such pollution, albeit contained for processing. The biochemical processes that occur in water due to such organic pollution are known to decrease the oxygen content of the water, thereby reducing or perhaps even destroying fish and other aquatic life in the contaminated body of water. Even if some fish remain in the polluted water, they are almost certainly unfit for human consumption, if caught.
It is generally considered that the most effective means of eliminating such pollutants in contaminated water is by bacteriological processing, wherein bacteria process the contaminants to break them down into harmless organic materials. However, such bacteria are aerobic, i.e., they require oxygen for their metabolism. This is well known in the sewage treatment field, where water is commonly treated by aeration after solids are removed by settling or other means. Such aeration is generally accomplished by pneumatic means, e.g., pumping the water up for dispensing into the air from spray booms and nozzles, or by forcing air through underwater pipes for the air to bubble up through the water. Such pneumatic systems are relatively costly to operate and require relatively high energy and manpower costs. Even if such systems were less costly to operate, a huge drawback is that they cannot be readily transported to a pollution site for operation at that site. Rather, the water must be transported to the location of the aeration system, a process that is clearly unworkable on a very large scale and/or over very long distances.
Another principle of aerator operation uses mechanical motion to drive a propeller or the like to disturb the surface of the water and entrain air into the water. The pneumatic system described above and such mechanical systems are by far the most common water aeration systems in use, and neither is particularly efficient or economical due to the relatively high labor required for their deployment, operation, and maintenance.
Thus, a mobile buoyant aerator solving the aforementioned problems is desired.